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Big Meadows Fire over 330 acres

No structures or communities at risk

By John Cordsen

Trail-Gazette

Posted:
06/13/2013 12:43:39 PM MDT

Updated:
06/13/2013 12:44:21 PM MDT

Ben Bobowski, left, chief of resource stewardship with Rocky Mountain National Park and the park's public service officer Kyle Patterson, briefed the media Wedneday morning on the Big Meadows Fire burning on the west side of the park. (John Cordsen / Trail-Gazette)

A slight haze of smoke from the Big Meadows Fire burning on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park was visible from the Gore Range Overlook on Trail-Ridge Road. (John Cordsen / Trail-Gazette)

Wind, fuel and location have combined to push the Big Meadows Fire from a small two or three acre fire into a growing 300 acre blaze by Wednesday night. Strong gusty winds on Tuesday were the biggest culprit, as gusts in excess of 40 mph pushed the fire into timber and it quickly grew to nearly 300 acres in a matter of hours. The fire has been burning since Monday afternoon west side of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). It was ignited by a lightning strike.

Tuesday's flare up was felt in Estes Park as the strong winds pushed smoke over the Continental Divide and into Estes Park. By late afternoon, the strong odor of woodsmoke was also evident.

A plume of smoke from the Big Meadows FIre burning since Monday afternoon on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park was clearly visible in Estes Park Tuesday afternoon after high winds fanned the flames, expanding what had been a small fire into a 600 acre blaze. (John Cordsen / Trail-Gazette)

"We have a lot of ladder fuels in the area that are very extreme." said Bob Bobowski, RMNP chief resource steward and incident spokesman. "Right now that is what is making it so volatile."

Bobowski said there is a full suppression effort underway, but the extreme conditions of the area make it difficult to get personnel on scene. This terrain is also contributing to the fires continued growth.

Officials had already made the decision to suppress the fire before it erupted on Tuesday.

"Although it is preferred to allow naturally occurring fires to burn for the benefit of the resource and future fire breaks, park managers have decided to suppress the fire when safe to do so," said Patterson pryor to Tuesday's wind-driven expansion. "Extended drought conditions and reduced interagency resources weighed in to this decision. The capacity to manage what would likely be a long duration fire is significantly limited."

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Officials worst fears were realized with Tuesday's expansion

"The possibility exists for it to continue to grow," said Bobowski.

He said the conditions are similar to the 2010 Cow Creek Fire that burned north of Estes Park. The fire, also a lightning caused blaze, became very active in June and then settled down for much of the summer as the monsoon season suppressed any growth.

"It arose again in September," said Bobowski. "We might have a similar phenomenon with this fire. We'll know more as the days progress."

As of Wednesday night, the Big Meadows Fire had grown to an estimated 600 acres with no containment. Winds were not as strong Wednesday, which resulted in less fire activity and spread. Firefighters conducted numerous recon flights which will be crucial in planning efforts. The fire is burning in remote, steep, rugged terrain with extensive hazards and more than 80 percent beetle killed trees. The plan continues to be to hold the fire east of Trail Ridge Road (Highway 34), west of the Continental Divide, and north of Tonahutu Creek. There are no structures or communities at immediate risk.

There are 107 firefighters currently on the Big Meadows Fire plus the Type II team who will be taking over command of the fire from the Boise Smokejumper Type III team Thursday.

"The high winds created such a force (Tuesday) the smoke jumpers had to retreat and come back in by land," said Bobowski.

Air resources include one Type I helicopter, one Type II helicopter and two Type III helicopters. Many firefighters will be camping out near the fire tonight to get an early morning start to continue with fire suppression tactics.

A challenge continues to be filling additional Type I crews. Due to other fires in Colorado, as well as in other states that are impacting communities and homes, resources are being spread across the nation. There are fires burning in the Black Forest area near Colorado Springs, Canon City and LaVeta in southern Colorado.

Currently, there are seven trails that are temporarily closed in the area - the Onahu Trail, the Green Mountain Trail, the lower Tonahutu Trail, the Tonahutu Spur Trail, the Grand Lake Lodge Spur Trail, the Timber Lake Trail and the trail which branches toward Mount Ida from Milner Pass.

"All major roads and facilities in Rocky Mountain National Park are open as are our neighboring communities of Grand Lake and Estes Park," said Patterson.

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